everyone knows noxin was corrupt, he took that dog didnt he
Yeah - this isn’t something we want to skimp on - we make all sorts of security precautions to protect airline passengers - where you have less than a 1 in 10,000,000 chance of being killed due to a terrorist attack.
Historically -
your chances of being killed because you were elected president: at least 1 in 11
your chances of being killed or injured during assassination attempt: at least 1 in 7.33
Your chances of being killed, injured, or were at risk due to an armed attack that was intended to get you: at least 1 in 5
Yes - of course the crazies die down a lot after you leave office, but at least one nation state, Iraq, tried to assassinate a former president (Bush I) for which Clinton Launched 23 cruise missiles in retaliation.
There is no reason to believe that a terrorist group, crazy person, or rogue state would not attempt to do so in the future - especially against ex presidents or their spouses that remain in the limelight - such as Hillary - would not be a target in the future. It’s been what - 14 years since the Clinton’s left - which if that interim law had taken effect - would have left her without protection four years ago.
We need to spend money to protect our presidents. I am not a fan of the Bushes, but I certainly wouldn’t want George to be subject to getting shot - or much worse for history - any of his artwork stolen.
Do you know who else dismissed his SS detail?
He discontinued it for his spouse a year before discontinuing it for himself? What a romantic he was…
Og knows I am not exactly an admirer of Richard Nixon, but I’ve never seen anything to indicate that he was an uncaring or callous husband in his domestic life.
Ah, that’s the clarification that makes it make sense. Seemed strange he would have done that otherwise.
It’s kind of hard to read “SS” in this thread and think “Secret Service”.
Doesn’t it partly depend what you mean by “secret service protection”? Especially when it comes to crunching numbers. Does the money spent on their protection balance against the potential costs if some terror group/extremist not in a group decided to target them?
Take Chelsea Clinton, for example. Is she more likely than tha average 20-something to be kidnapped and used as a means to get what they want? Yes. Her parents still have lots of contacts that they could use to try to get whatever the kidnappers wanted. And if it were discovered that they hadn’t done that, or that they’d tried but were thwarted by their own govt, that would llook terrible.
So she has more secret service protection than the average 20-something whose Dad is a general or somesuch.
It’s basically paying for insurance on the stuff that’s most likely to cause you harm if it’s taken.
I think it’s also safe to assume that a former President gets a much lower (and less expensive) level of protection than the sitting President. Sure, a few agents shadow them all the time, but they’re not travelling via RPG-proof cars, no teams of a dozen agents checking out the site they’ll be giving the speech at next month, etc.
I work next to a book store and Jimmy Carter has come by for book signings a couple of times. I can see the parking area from one section of a publicly accessible hallway and I was able to see his detail’s cars by the loading dock. There weren’t any agents posted in the hallway.
Nice comeback. I’ll assume you don’t have a cite or don’t care to find one.
Apparently, he got so much graft he could afford a cloth coat for Pat too.
I assume Pat was oot and aboot more than Richard was in later years, hence she probably found the detail a bit more of an annoyance.
my cite is the checkers speech
also chelsea is over thirty now
I’m guessing this is a joke, but, well, is it? Cuz it would be really funny if it was true.
It’s my understanding that they would even shoot the babies in order to take the victim out of the equation, a la “Speed”.
You may laugh at Secret Service protection for former presidents and their families but it is no joke. I have a close friend who grew up living the Secret Service life protecting presidents through his father. His father was one of the peripheral agents present when Reagan got shot and they took it very personally. The whole family had to move to California shortly after that to protect the then quite obsolete Gerald Ford family. Gerald Ford had a very legitimate assassination attempt on his life from a Manson family member, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme but it was unsuccessful.
You would think that Gerald Ford would be the most benign ex-president you could possibly have and wouldn’t draw much attention but you would be wrong. According to my friend that lived it, the threats were constant to both the Ford household and the family. The SS investigated and dealt with all of them so that they could have a semi-normal life. Most were obviously from crazy people that weren’t a true threat but it was the agents job to sort them out because it only takes one to make a real statement through delusional violence.
I also think all ex-presidents and their spouses should have SS protection for life because they are always at risk from an insane person or a political reactionary.
You would be very surprised about how many nearly successful assassination attempts there have been. Every single president since LBJ has had a legitimate one or more plus hundreds of other casual threats that weren’t planned well. The Secret Service has a tough job and always to maintain constant vigilance even for ex-presidents and their family members.
what attempts were made vs. lbj, clinton, nixon? i remember carter was attacked by a killer rabbit, did they call in the spca?
Did you bother looking at the source in the post directly above yours?
I’ve read a lot about the Kennedys and have never read this, so I assume you’re joking. If not… cite?
As was another just 17 days later, as your Wiki link shows: Sara Jane Moore - Wikipedia
A Staff Report that may be of interest: Is the Secret Service responsible for keeping the president from getting drunk? - The Straight Dope